Ch. 10
Let Me Help You
Pokemon is the property of its respective owners
Ash continued to give Delia a cheeky grin as Pikachu smirked and allowed some sparks to light up around his cheeks. Ash, as calm as ever, put his hands behind his head and casually asked the rules for the battle.
"The battle will be three on three with no time limit and the battle can be won through either knockout or if either side gives up," Delia stated confidently as Ash gave a long whistle.
"Dang, you're really getting serious with this aren't you? Well Delia, I won't disappoint you," Ash said with a smirk on his face.
The tense mood was broken as Lucario, Professor Rowan, and Catherine, who was still limping slightly, returned and wondered what was going on.
"Come now you two are you going to tell us what in blazes is going on or are you just going to continue to stare at each other?" Professor Rowan asked as he looked back and forth between the two trainers.
"Well sir, Delia instigated a challenge to Ash and he accepted…sir," Dmitri told him hastily.
"Wait what?! I'm gone for like…five minutes and all of a sudden you already have your first battle as an official trainer? Not cool, totally unfair!" Catherine shouted with a pouty face as Lucario comforted her.
"Well, if you two are really going to fight each other I have a training area out back that you can use. Just try not to mess it up too badly alright?" Professor Rowan said.
"Delia, I need to get some pokemon first from Professor Oak. You don't mind waiting right?" Ash asked Delia with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Patience is a virtue so no, I don't mind waiting. Just choose wisely Ash Ketchum," Delia said contemptuously.
"What's Delia doing? Why is she acting like she's the queen of pokemon battles right now?" Does she really believe she can win this easily?" Dmitri thought worriedly as he glanced at Delia.
"Very well then, while I help Mr. Ketchum choose his pokemon my assistant will show you to the training area," Professor Rowan said simply as he walked over to Ash and led him to some sort of computer.
The assistant looked up from his computer lazily causing his glasses to fall of his face and land on the floor with a loud crack. He sighed and just kicked what remained of his glasses towards the trash can and got up from his chair slowly. He talked just as slowly as he picked up his cup of coffee and slowly said "follow me." The trainers and pokemon only did so after giving each other "Is this for real?" looks. Maris hastened her pace until she was walking right next to Dmitri uncomfortably and slowly leaned into him.
"(So Dmitri, I noticed that look you were giving Delia when she was talking like she was the flipping champion and I knew what you were thinking. How much of a chance do you think she has of winning?)" Maris questioned her friend quietly.
Dmitri flinched slightly when Maris told him that she had indeed seen the look he had given Delia. He sighed and as discreetly as possible, whispered in Maris's ear:
"Maris, I can honestly tell you that I don't know how this will turn out. Delia is a great battler, but this might be one challenger that she'll have to be wary about." Dmitri replied with a downcast expression.
When they finally reached the training area, it was what anyone could have expected. Fresh white lines adorned the middle of the grass field while a plain white circle resembling a pokeball stood at the center of the area. All in all, it was a decent training area anyone could make with the right tools for the job. Dmitri and Maris looked over at Delia who gave them a respectful nod and walked over to one side of the battlefield; a stoic expression on her face.
Catherine and Lucario slowly inched their way over to Dmitri and Maris who gave them confused looks before Catherine spoke up.
"So, after Delia gets her rear end kicked do you want to get some ice cream?" Catherine asked Dmitri nonchalantly as Lucario raised her brow in annoyance.
Catherine noticed this and threw her hands up in the air.
"Geez Luka, I was just asking! No need to get all "What the Heck?" or "Now is not really the time" on me!" Catherine yelled in frustration.
Maris chuckled heartily as Luka flushed in embarrassment and stared down at the ground.
"(Luka?)" Maris said teasingly.
"(Hey, I asked my master for a name when she was getting registered and that was the best one she could think of. Besides, I rather like it. It makes me sound cool, tough, and intimidating,)" Luka said as she puffed her chest.
"(Ooooo, I'll try my best not to run into you in a dark alley,)" Maris said teasingly as Luka blushed once again and this time just stared at Dmitri, catching Maris's interest.
She quickly ushered Luka to the side so she could tell her what's on her mind without Dmitri knowing. Luka sighed and told Maris:
"(Look sis, I've seen the way you looked at your trainer and how you act towards him. I just want to let you know that your secret is safe with me,)" Luka told her sincerely, but still earning a glare from Maris.
"(That's good; otherwise we'd have a repeat of what happened at the tournament and this time there won't be any rules to save you,)" Maris said in a low, intimidating tone as she stared down Luka who glared at her right back.
"(Sis, I didn't mean to threaten you or anything, but look at me like that again and there won't be any bells to save you,)" Luka retorted viciously as she got right in Maris's face.
"(Touché,)" Maris said simply as she stared down her friend.
Luka and Maris continued to stare each other down before two voices interrupted them.
"Hey…um…guys, are you two having a staring contest or something?" Dmitri asked them cluelessly.
"I play winner!" Catherine shouted enthusiastically.
"Listen Maris and Luc-"
"(It's Luka now Dmitri,)" Luka told Dmitri without ever taking her eyes off Maris.
"Well, when you guys finish your game, do you want to sit in the grass with me and Catherine while we cheer on Delia?" Dmitri asked the two pokemon which caused Luka to look at him irritatedly before simply nodding.
Maris inhaled and exhaled loudly before clenching her fists and extending her paw to Luka without hesitation. Luka stared at it blankly before taking it in her own and shaking it; smiling at Maris. Just as Catherine asked to play against Maris, the lab doors opened showing a confident Ash with his hands behind his head and a stoic Professor Rowan walking towards the training area. Ash, seeing Delia on the other side of the area, saluted her and took his place on his side; smirking all the way.
Professor Rowan took his place in the referee box which is located at the left side of the field while the bystanders sat off to the side to watch the ensuing battle.
"This three-on-three battle will be between Delia Shiina of the Battle Academy versus Ash Ketchum of the Kanto Region with no time limit. The battle can be won through either knockout or if either side gives up. Are these rules understood?" Professor Rowan gruffly asked the two trainers.
"Yep," Ash replied with a confident thumbs-up.
"Understood," Delia responded stoically as she gripped a pokeball at her waist.
"Very well, you may begin," Professor Rowan yelled.
"Haxorus, you're up!" Delia shouted.
Ash gave an impressed look as the large axe jaw pokemon materialized onto the field staring menacingly at the trainer before him. Ash twisted his hat behind as he grabbed a pokeball on his belt.
"Whoa, never seen a pokemon like that before. I'm definitely going to have to visit the region you guys came from after I win the Sinnoh League. But for now, Charizard I choose you!" Ash shouted as he threw the pokeball onto the field to reveal an intimidating, orange dragon breathing black smoke out of its nostrils.
"(What sort of beast is that?)" Maris asked no one in particular.
"(Its species is known as Charizard or the Flame Pokemon, and by the looks of it, it's a very powerful one,)" Luka answered intellectually as Maris snorted rudely.
"(Looks can be deceiving Luka,)" Maris responded while crossing her arms.
"(Indeed they can,)" Luka said as she put her hands on her hips.
"Can you guys tell me what exactly you're talking about?!" Catherine shouted at them in frustration.
Maris scoffed and turned her attention back to the battle while Luka just rolled her eyes; leaving an infuriated Catherine flailing her arms angrily while Dmitri tried to calm her down.
"Haxorus start this battle off with dragon pulse followed by dragon claw," Delia commanded.
Haxorus roared just as a bright, blue energy began gathering around his mouth and just as suddenly as it came, Haxorus fired it out in destructive blast towards his opponent. Ash smirked before telling Charizard to dodge it and he did so by sidestepping the blast before noticing his opponent charging right at him with a dragon claw at the ready.
Just as Haxorus was about to make contact with an outstretched claw, Charizard grabbed it mid-flight; shocking Haxorus as he tried to free himself to no avail.
"Charizard use dragon rage!" Ash shouted.
Charizard quickly shot out a sphere of orange energy at his foe point-blank, but to his surprise his opponent barely managed to maneuver his head out of the way in time before kneeing him in the gut. It hurt slightly and he loosened his grip on his opponent just a bit, but that was all the time Haxorus needed to free himself from his grasp.
"Haxorus, use scary face!" Delia commanded.
Haxorus's eyes shined a piercing red before glaring right at Charizard causing the Flame Pokemon to flinch away in surprise.
"Now Haxorus!" Delia yelled confidently as Haxorus charged at his foe with his tusks glowing white.
"Guillotine, eh? You haven't used that move in Arceus knows how long," Maris thought interestedly as she watched Haxorus rush his disoriented opponent.
"Haxorus is going to win, right guys?" Dmitri asked his friends optimistically.
Maris and Luka did their best to look like they hadn't heard his question and continued to stare at the battle with a hint of doubt creeping up on them while Catherine reassured him that Haxorus would be fine.
Just as Haxorus slashed at Charizard with his tusks, Charizard ducked under him and gripped him in a tight bear hug causing Haxorus to roar in pain. Ash let an arrogant smirk cross his features whilst Delia cried out for Haxorus to break free.
"Not a chance, Charizard use seismic toss!" Ash shouted as Charizard soared like a rocket into the sky while gripping a roaring Haxorus who was desperately clawing, biting, and slashing to get loose.
Haxorus's struggle seemed to grow quieter and quieter until all anyone heard was dead silence. Everyone looked to the sky to find any sign of the combatants, but all they found were the clouds and the hot sun. Suddenly, everyone saw the faint outline of Haxorus quickly coming back to earth with red hot flames surrounding him.
"(Flipping crap! That is not good!") Maris thought worriedly as she tackled Dmitri to the ground and shielded him with her body.
"(Oh no, this is not going to end well,)" Luka thought concernedly as she hugged Catherine protectively.
Haxorus hit the ground with the force of a small explosion sending gravel and dust flying in all directions. Delia and Ash shielded themselves with their arms from the blast while Professor Rowan dove to the ground and covered his head with his hands. Some spare debris hit Maris and Luka, but they paid it no mind as their concern lay with protecting their friends.
"(Dmitri, are you ok? You didn't get hit by anything right?)" Maris asked her friend concernedly as Dmitri smiled and nodded in response.
"(Catherine, you haven't received any wounds right?)" Luka asked her friend in a worried tone as Catherine was shouting hysterically "I'm dead!" repeatedly while covering her eyes.
When they recovered from getting knocked off their feet, the four waited for the dust to settle and the sight that awaited them shocked both Dmitri and Maris.
"N…n…no way," Dmitri barely managed breathe out.
"Impossible," Maris said with a shocked expression on her face.
Haxorus, the same dragon type pokemon who had won Delia many battles without the slightest of effort. Haxorus, the same pokemon who took super effective attacks like there were nothing, lay unconscious in a huge crater with swirls in his eyes. Professor Rowan coughed bitterly as he finally got back up on his feet and tried to wave away the dust that still remained from the impact. Upon seeing an unconscious Haxorus on the ground, his eyes widened in shock before returning to his serious gaze and calling out the results of the round.
"Haxorus is unable to continue which makes Ash Ketchum the winner of this round," Professor Rowan yelled.
Delia's hands went clammy and twitched slightly as the realization dawned upon her that she had indeed lost this round. Delia inhaled and exhaled as she tried to regain her cool composure and win the match. Delia raised Haxorus's pokeball with her hands still trembling slightly as she recalled Haxorus back while thanking him for his efforts before gripping another pokeball at her waist.
"Druddigon, avenge the fallen!" Delia shouted determinedly as she threw another pokeball onto the field to reveal a dragon that seemed something out of a fairy tale.
"Charizard thanks for everything, you should take a rest. Pikachu, you're up buddy," Ash said as he recalled Charizard while Pikachu jumped from his shoulders and landed on the grass field with sparks emitting from his cheeks.
Delia narrowed her eyes before ordering Druddigon use chip away while Ash commanded Pikachu to use agility. Druddigon snorted before charging at Pikachu with speed that seemed impossible for a creature his size before throwing a right cross at the yellow rat which he nimbly ducked right under. Druddigon rained down blow after blow on the yellow rat, but none of them connected, further frustrating the battle ace.
"Pikachu use iron tail!" Ash yelled.
"Druddigon take the attack!" Delia shouted.
Pikachu's tail glowed silver for a mere moment before it solidified in a dense, durable metal and quickly wacked Druddigon on the side of the skull. Pikachu soon regretted as he cried out in pain and nursed his bruised tail as he rolled on the ground.
"Quick, use revenge!" Delia yelled as Druddigon flexed his muscles for a bit before being surrounded in a dark, angry red energy.
Druddigon raised both of its arms in the air before attempting to slam them back down on the rodent, but Pikachu barely managed to roll forward under Druddigon's legs and into leaped onto all fours behind him.
"That's it!" Ash thought as he saw Druddigon collapse the ground in front of him with an overhead strike.
Ash quickly ordered Pikachu to use quick attack and as quick as flash, Pikachu charged at the cave pokemon with a silver streak right behind him.
"What sort of game are you playing with me Ketchum?" Delia thought warily.
"Druddigon scary face," Delia shouted as the cave pokemon glared angrily at the mouse pokemon; causing it to stop right in its tracks.
Delia commanded Druddigon to use dragon claw and with great speed, Druddigon lashed out with outstretched claws which barely managed to cut Pikachu as he tried to jump out of the way. Ash gritted his teeth before ordering Pikachu to use thunderbolt. The sky darkened before a lightning blast descended from the clouds and struck Pikachu full force. The growing power in Pikachu caused it to spark continuously around his body and in realizing he gained this power, smirked at Druddigon.
With a great roar, Pikachu unleashed the full might of his thunderbolt on his foe.
"Druddigon defend!" Delia shouted desperately as Druddigon formed an x with his arms to block the incoming attack.
It was of no use as the lightning bolt hit home causing Druddigon to give a loud cry in pain as he crumpled in heap on the ground with electricity still causing his body to twitch. Delia angrily raised Druddigon's pokeball and recalled him; all without saying a word.
"Tell me Ash, how did you come up with such a strategy?" Delia asked Ash with narrowed eyes.
"Well after watching you're pokemon trying to continuously to hit Pikachu allowed me to see that while it is indeed very powerful and fast, I noticed it became off balance when it tried to hit Pikachu with power shots. So I knew closing the distance between Pikachu and Druddigon would be the only way for you to actually try another power shot to try to end this fight quickly. Although I intended for Pikachu to not get hit by dragon claw, the plan still worked as Druddigon was still off balance when striking, giving Pikachu enough time to charge up a thunderbolt and retaliate," Ash answered her with a smile.
Delia nodded stoically before reaching for an ultra-ball at her waist causing Dmitri's and Maris's eyes to widen in shock while Catherine and Luka stared on intently.
"(For flipping Arceus's sake don't send out that feral beast you call your ace!)" Maris shouted desperately as she leaped to her feet and assumed a fighting stance.
Maris looked to Dmitri pleadingly and he got the message. Taking Catherine's hands in his he pulled her to her feet and ran to some trees to take cover from the ensuing threat. Luka looked on in confusion before coming to the conclusion that if Maris was concerned that this pokemon could be a threat to everyone present, she should do her best to bring it down as well.
"(So, is this pokemon Delia has a feral beast like you said?)" Luka asked her companion warily as Delia threw the pokeball onto the field to reveal some sort of dark, three headed creature with black as night wings.
"(Usually it will listen to her, but when Delia starts losing that's when you have to start worrying,)" Maris replied as she saw Delia's ace take to the skies.
Ash looked at his new opponent curiously as the looks of concern Maris and Dmitri gave caused him to be on guard. Not wanting to take any chances, he sent out Charizard once again to be sure if this was indeed a berserk pokemon, at least he would have a powerful pokemon to deal with it.
"Alright Hydreigon, use tri-attack followed by dragon pulse!" Delia commanded as Haxorus gave a loud shriek and fired off a multitude of ice beams, thunderbolts, flamethrowers, and dragon pulses at Charizard.
Charizard took flight to avoid the attacks as they exploded violently underneath him causing him to narrow his eyes at his opponent. Hydreigon roared angrily before blindly charging at his foe and firing random attacks consecutively in the hopes that it would do away with his opponent. Charizard dodged them all with ease while looking to Ash for some sort of solution, but all Ash did was look on stoically.
"(Luka, it needs to go down now!)" Maris shouted seriously at her friend who nodded understandingly.
Using bounce to jump higher than she normally she could, Maris struck Hydreigon with a fierce kick right in the belly followed by a drain punch directly in the ribs. Hydreigon closed its eyes in pain and descended slightly before knocking Maris away with a flick of its tail. Maris righted herself in midair and landed on the ground with a thud as the momentum caused the ground to split right under her.
"(Luka go!)" Maris shouted.
Luka closed her eyes and concentrated on the flow of energy within everyone in the vicinity before she was covered in a dark blue energy. Shifting this energy into her palms, she drew her hands back and launched an orb of life energy at her target with a loud "Kiya!"
Hydreigon never saw the attack coming as it crashed right into its side causing it to grit its teeth in pain. Furious, the dark dragon fired hyper beams and dragon pulses at the two pokemon who dared to attack it while they barely managed to get out of the way.
"Hydreigon as your friend I beg of you to stop this at once!" Delia yelled angrily as Hydreigon glared menacingly at the girl before charging a dark, volatile beam in all of its mouths.
"Delia, no!" Dmitri yelled as ran out of his cover towards his friend while Catherine tried to catch up to him.
Fortunately, Charizard slammed right into Hydreigon causing the attacks to fire erratically into the sky. Charizard roared and fired a beam point-blank that was fueled out of the pure rage it felt for this pokemon to endanger others for no good reason. Hydreigon crashed to the ground in a heap as Delia hastily recalled it back into its pokeball and lowered her head in shame.
"Professor Rowan, please call it," Delia mumbled as she fell to her knees.
"Ah yes of course, Delia Shiina has no more usable pokemon in this match which makes Ash Ketchum of the Kanto Region the winner," Professor Rowan said calmly considering what just happened.
Ash recalled Charizard and walked over to Delia who was looking down at the ground with her hair covering her face.
"I would like to have a rematch with you Delia when you learn to better control the pokemon under your care," Ash said stoically as he walked away with Pikachu looking back apologetically before catching up to his best friend and leaping on his shoulders.
Dmitri ran over to Delia and hugged her tightly as he was grateful that she hadn't been harmed. Maris, however, wasn't as happy as she roughly grabbed Delia by her arm and lifted her to her feet. Delia tried to turn her face away from Maris, but she violently grabbed her chin and yanked it towards her face so that way they were staring eye to eye.
"(Look here you arrogant, insensitive, thoughtless, piece of crap! Someone could have seriously hurt today because of your need to get a victory on a trainer who you thought you could easily beat because of some rankings he had in earlier championships. Well, it didn't turn out the way you wanted now did it! You're going to apologize to everyone you endangered here today and you're going to make sure this never happens again!)" Maris roared furiously as Delia let the pent-up tears she was restraining fall down her face.
"Maris, please she didn't-"
"(She didn't mean to?! Open your eyes Dmitri! You could have been killed today because of her and you're defending her actions?)" Maris shouted incredulously.
"While I know what she did was wrong, I know nobody is perfect. That's why were on a journey right? So that we can improve ourselves as trainers and people through the experiences that we will have on this journey," Dmitri told Maris firmly causing her to glower at him before releasing Delia and letting her fall to the ground.
Dmitri offered his hand to Delia, but she slapped it away and got up on her own. Delia bowed to Catherine and Lucario while apologizing for putting them in danger and did the same for Professor Rowan who nodded. Delia marched right up to Dmitri and hugged him tightly while apologizing for putting him in danger. When it came down to Maris, Delia simply extended her hand to her and Maris gripped it firmly causing Delia to have to suppress the urge to scream out in pain.
"Let's go guys, maybe they're still some rooms at the pokemon center in Jubilife City that we can rent for the night," Delia said sadly as she walked away quickly leaving her friends to play catch up.
The five of them walked down route 202 in silence as Catherine didn't dare follow-up on her promise for ice cream while Dmitri looked at Delia in concern. Maris and Luka noticed the sky getting darker as they walked down the path so they voted for the group to set up camp and make the trip to Jubilife tomorrow. Everyone seemed to agree and moved to a clearing to set up camp. Catherine gently set down her backpack and carefully unzipped it as some supplies she just quickly stuffed right in there popped right out of the bag. Catherine smiled sheepishly as Luka grumbled and took out the remaining supplies out of the backpack when she noticed the odd sight of Dmitri being by himself.
"(Odd, Maris usually never leaves his side,)" Luka thought as she tapped Catherine on the shoulder and pointed towards Dmitri causing Catherine to walk towards Dmitri with Luka right behind her.
"What's wrong Dmitri?" Catherine asked her friend concernedly.
Dmitri gestured with his head to the right which showed Delia with her knees tucked into her body while facing a tree.
"(Where's Maris?)" Luka questioned him as he pointed to a tree behind him to reveal Maris climbing it with minimal effort while she threw strikes at invisible opponents.
"Whenever she gets really agitated, she trains intensely," Dmitri replied as he buried his face in his palm.
"(There's more to it, isn't there?)" Luka asked once again as Dmitri nodded sadly.
"When Delia is feeling depressed or angered, she wants to resolve things herself without going to anyone for help, but she always wants others to talk to her when they're feeling down," Dmitri said as he looked at Delia with a worried expression.
Catherine looked at Delia with raised eyebrows before helping Dmitri to his feet and telling him:
"Well, it's obvious that whatever it getting to her isn't going to go away by itself so we might as well help her out. And don't worry about making her want to talk about her feelings because if she won't Luka will make her sing them!" Catherine said cheerfully to Dmitri.
"Thank you Catherine and Luka," Dmitri replied gratefully as they approached the downcast battle ace.
"Delia do-"
"Shut up, leave me alone," Delia gruffly said.
Dmitri looked down at the ground for a moment before clenching his fists and saying:
"No, I will not Delia!" Dmitri shouted at her.
Delia quickly jumped to her feet, turned around, and glared menacingly at Dmitri to try to make him go away, but he did not back down.
"Delia, let me help you! You always comforted me when I needed it and now I want to repay the favor. You can't just be this person who listens to other people's problems and helps them with it when you're too weak to go to other people for help when you need it!" Dmitri shouted frustratingly at his childhood friend who darkened her gaze at him.
No sooner had these words left his mouth when he found himself roughly pinned to a tree causing him to a give a low shout in pain as he found Delia glaring angrily at him.
"You think I'm weak Dmitri?" Delia asked him solemnly as Dmitri tried to free himself.
"Hey Delia, I think you're taking things way too far!" Catherine said as she put a hand on Delia's shoulder only to be sent reeling back when a soft kick connected with her belly.
"(Dmitri, Delia, enough of this! Delia you've taken things too fa-)" Luka started saying until a tired, serious voice cut her off.
"(Don't, let them settle it,)" Maris said gruffly.
Luka was about to protest until a serious glare from Maris told her otherwise. Luka nodded and stepped back to watch how this would unfold.
"Just LEAVE ME ALONE OK! What's bothering me has ABSOLUTELY NOTH-"
"IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH ME!" Dmitri yelled furiously at Delia as he lost his cool.
Catherine, Luka, and Delia looked at Dmitri in shock as she released Dmitri and fell to her knees once again. Dmitri knelt in front of her and tried to look as gentle as possible.
"When we were at the Battle Academy, you never took the battle master test because you didn't want to get separated me right? Because you thought I still needed help?" Dmitri asked Delia who nodded.
"I also didn't want to be separated from the only two friends I had. Maris was right; someone could have been hurt or killed because of my selfish need to win. In the morning, I will head back to the docks alone while you continue your journey as I did just invite myself along out of my need to prove to myself that I could beat trainers who didn't go to school," Delia said shamefully as Dmitri pulled her into a hug; surprising her.
"No, Delia, you don't need to do that. Just continue to travel with us even when you do prove to yourself that you can beat trainers without formal training. Catherine and Luka are traveling with us to secure their family's fortune and I hope they will continue to travel with us even when they do achieve their goal," Dmitri told her as she said nothing and rested her chin on his shoulder.
Breaking the hug, Delia and Dmitri got to their feet and in a surprising show of respect, Delia bowed to Dmitri.
"You're right Dmitri. I will tell you guys when something is troubling me and not keep it in with the foolish notion that I can deal with it. I hope you may still come to me when something is bothering you guys as well," Delia said respectfully to her group.
Delia approached Maris reluctantly as the Martial Arts pokemon just extended her paw to her suddenly. Delia took it in her hands without hesitation and shook it as Delia smiled widely.
"Well I'm glad we got this behind us. Do you guys want to get some ice cream later on tomorrow?" Catherine asked all of her friends.
"I would like that," Delia said happily.
After they finally managed to set up their camp and let all of what happened sink in, they decided it was for the best that they should go to sleep and retreated into their tents. Delia followed Dmitri into his and laid her sleeping bag net to his; wondering where Maris was.
"She and Luka decided to do some light sparring before they went to bed and by that we both know Maris will be up all night," Dmitri replied as Delia nodded and rested her head on her hands.
"You're a great friend Dmitri, you're father obviously taught you good morals while your mom tried to teach about battling," Delia said as Dmitri started hyperventilating before collapsing and lay motionless on the ground.
"Oh no!" Delia thought concernedly as she rushed to his side and cradled his head in her hand.